INDIANAPOLIS — An IMPD officer fired at an alleged suspect of a shooting outside of an Indianapolis business on the east side of Indianapolis early Saturday morning.
According to Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, just before 2 a.m. an officer was working security in full IMPD uniform, outside of Bubbaz Bar and Grill.
Police said he tried to break up an altercation when a suspect fired shots inside the bar injuring a man and woman. The officer then shot the suspect.
IMPD said the off-duty officer was wearing a body camera and will be investigated like any other officer-involved shooting.
On Oct. 20, IMPD identified the officer involved as 16-year veteran Roman Ervin-Williams.
"He handled it pretty fast. He straight up ran in there even though people were shooting and stuff like that so he did a good job in my opinion. He was sitting in his car and he ran up and got it all handled," said witness Ayani Culegrove.
Ayani Culegrove said he heard the shots fired.
"I heard a couple of shots go off and they started shooting a little bit more then I took off. I watched as the police came up. One dude was running in the parking lot. He was saying I got shot and stuff like that. It was surprising," said Culegrove.
The alleged suspect was then taken into custody and transported to an area hospital in critical condition.
The victim was self-transported to a hospital and is also listed in critical condition.
Shortly after, at about 2:30 a.m., IMPD East District officers responded to the 2800 block of Carla Court on a report of a person shot.
Officers arrived and located an adult female with gunshot injuries. Officers learned the victim received her injuries at the initial scene in at Bubbaz Bar and Grill.
The woman was transported to the hospital in stable condition.
The man who was shot by the officer is under arrest for battery with a deadly weapon, and pointing a firearm.
Bubbaz Bar and Grill issued a statement in response to the incident,
"First and foremost, we at Bubbaz extend our thoughts and prayers to all victims of last nights incidents. The staff of Bubbaz is physically safe, but violence claims many types of victims. We want to thank the heroic efforts of our on site security in minimizing what could have been a much more serious incident.
Bubbaz is a longstanding neighborhood bar on the eastside. Our patrons have known it to be a safe and friendly atmosphere for decades. We make every effort to make Bubbaz a safe environment for all to come and have a good time - to be the bar eastsiders deserve."
The IMPD Critical Incident Response Team responded to the scene to conduct the criminal investigation. IMPD Internal Affairs is conducting a separate administrative investigation.
The officer who fired their firearm has been placed on administrative leave, as is standard procedure in an officer-involved shooting investigation.
The civilian-majority Use of Force Review Board will conduct a mandatory hearing for any attempted use of deadly force against a person. This occurs after the conclusion of the criminal process.
On Nov. 27, 2023, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office filed a Motion for a Protective Order Regarding Discovery and the court granted the motion the next day. The Court’s Order prohibits the body cam footage of the incident to be released until after the criminal case has concluded.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Sergeant Scott Stauffer at the homicide office by calling 317-327-3475. Alternatively, anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 317-262-TIPS.
